Let's not raise the Mass. gas tax
BY elizabeth karasmeighan
According to media reports, the Massachusetts Transportation Finance Committee is expected to recommend a 9-cent gas tax hike. This would bring the state gas tax rate up to Rhode Island’s 30 cents per gallon rate. There is only one thing to say about this effort: STOP!
The impact of raising the gas tax is not confined to making it harder for Massachusetts families and visitors to get from point A to point B. Imposing and raising taxes on motor fuel increases the cost of doing business. By hiking the price of transporting goods, tax increases also boost the prices of everything from groceries to school supplies.
Two of the loudest arguments for raising the gas tax are both deeply flawed: that gas taxes are actually "user fees" and that raising the rate will lead to fuel conservation.
To qualify as a user fee, by definition, a charge must fund a specific service with no excess going into a general fund; a charge must be paid only by those who use that specific government service; and individuals must have the choice whether to purchase the service from the government (and thus pay the fee) or to purchase the service from a private business.
The gas tax does not fit the definition of a user fee. There is no way to get around paying a tax for motor fuel by purchasing fuel or the "service" of road maintenance from the private sector. Also, as the last state gas tax hike in 1990 went to reduce the state’s operating deficit, not to "fix" transportation, it is safe to say that gas tax revenue is not solely devoted to roads and highways, it merely helps to grow government spending.
The other popular sound-bite, that by raising the gas tax, the government is encouraging conservation, defies the free-market system our economy is based on. Gasoline prices have their own conservation system built right in to the price; if gas gets too expensive, consumers will have an incentive to conserve. It is not the role of government to distort markets and artificially raise the price of gasoline.
The solution to Massachusetts’ transportation woes is not to take another big dig out of taxpayers’ wallets. Now is not the time to challenge Rhode Island in a battle for who has the highest tax rate, now is the time to cut waste, prioritize spending, and turn to free-market solutions, like privatization, to achieve the Bay State’s transportation goals.
Fortunately for taxpayers, tax hike opposition is already accelerating. It appears that all four of the gubernatorial candidates know that taxes on motor fuel do not only inflict pain at the pump, but also have broad, hidden implications for economic growth and stability. However, as Lt. Gov. Kerry Healey is the only one who has pledged to taxpayers in writing that she will "oppose and veto any and all efforts to increase taxes," the others’ words may turn out to be just fumes.
Elizabeth Karasmeighan is state government affairs manager for Americans for Tax Reform, a nonprofit, 501(c)(4) lobbying organization (www.atr.org). She can be reached at 202-785-0266.
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